‘We aren’t out of the woods yet’: SPU customers still being asked to conserve water

SEATTLE — In September, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) began asking its 1.5 million customers to voluntarily use less water until the fall rains returned. Months of rainy weather later, progress has been made, but customers are still being asked to conserve.

“Seattle Public Utilities is still asking customers to reduce their water use, but there is good news,” SPU told KIRO 7. “Our overall water supply situation has improved.”

According to SPU, both Cedar and Tolt reservoir levels are up eight feet since the start of November. The former of the two supplies an estimated two-thirds of SPU customers’ drinking water, and currently sits at “almost normal storage levels for this time of year.”

It’s a different story for the Tolt Reservoir, though, which is still an estimated 20 feet below normal.

“We aren’t out of the woods quite yet,” SPU cautions.

SPU isn’t putting a date on when customers will no longer be asked to conserve water, but did cite a goal for a collective 100 million gallons of water used a day.

“We are almost there -- 101 MGD was used (on average) over the past week,” they shared.

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